R36XX Impressions: The New Budget King?

Throughout the relatively short history of the emulation handheld hobby, I’ve written at length about my love for the Game Console R36S. The little budget beast that won over my heart from the first time I got my hands on its budget plastic. Sure, there were nicer devices out there, but this was the perfect intersection of functional performance and low cost of entry. As the hobby has gone on, the R36S has not only continued selling, but actually continued getting cheaper. The last one I picked up was a cart addition on a whim because I could have a light blue variant for under $20 during an AliExpress sale.

Clones fight on the next gen clone of a clone

There has been competition, sure, but no one has managed to know the 36S off its ledge. The BatleXP350 arrived last month, and Ban was right to point out all the things it does better than the R36S. Even then, though, I couldn’t turn my back on the 36S. We’d been through too much together. I’d followed it through iterations, clones, and everything in between. But now I’m afraid that’s all over…

Game Console have done it. For $28, I received a handheld that is better than my beloved R36S, and it’s only right that it comes to us from the budget clone masters themselves. Behold the cheapskate’s pass to the party: the R36XX has arrived.

R36XX: Specs

The 36XX with those that came before it

Looking at the two devices side by side, they appear almost identical. There is, however, one crucial difference that makes the 36XX stand out from the rest of the budget pack: built-in Wi-Fi. It may not sound like a huge difference, but for anyone who has lamented having to keep a dongle plugged into a handheld, they know that it feels like a compromise to the experience. And retro emulation just isn’t the same for me after discovering what it can be with the addition of RetroAchievements.

Controls and Ergonomics

PSX on the 36XX

Sitting side by side with the R36S, you’d be forgiven for thinking they were the same device at first glance. I’d speculate that the main reason for the addition of the lanyard-style USB dongle with the 36XX was just to give the handheld a way to stand out in the endless AliExpress listings for variants of the R36S. I’ve opted to leave the dongle in the box, and I think the overall look of the 36XX is better for it, but I understand why they’d have to include something to set the device apart.

Face buttons on the 36S were slightly stiff and took some wearing in overtime, but were largely fine. Here on the 36XX, they may have been refined slightly, but are largely the same and work quite well. A swap of the style START/SELECT/FUNCTION buttons is welcomed aesthetically, even if it has very little impact on the handheld’s function.

Solid Controls

The D-pad on the 36XX loses the central circle divot and replaces it with an X, but it works just as well. The V4 version of 36S saw some slight seating changes in the D-pad that created a better overall feel in use, and playing both side by side, I’d have to still give it the slightest of edges in the comfort department, but the difference is absolutely negligible.

Triggers on the 36XX are another welcome improvement over the 36S (especially the earlier generations). The triggers on my original release R36S are obnoxiously loud and really one of the few points of pain that drag the device down. This was rectified as time went on with iterations of the 36S, and I’m happy to say that they are not a major issue with the 36XX. While not perfect, they are significantly more pleasant to use than the old ones. Additional curvature fits the hands much better, and the loud clicks and clacking of the original have been dampened significantly.

The triggers (and the spelling) have come a long way since the first R36S

The screen is the same 3.5″ 640×480 that we see in many other devices. It still blows my mind that a device this cheap can have a screen that looks this good. Perhaps I’m old and my expectations are lower, but it still impresses me every time I start gaming.

Gaming

You’ve probably already guessed that the 36S and 36XX have similar performance, with the key difference being the 36XX’s Wi-Fi capability. Other than that chip, these two handhelds have nearly identical interiors. Both devices also come with ArkOS 2.0 preloaded, which many folks consider to be the best option for CFW on these devices, myself included.

The 36XX stands above the rest

You shouldn’t pick up the 36XX thinking it will give you access to Dreamcast and PSP titles that weren’t playable on the 36S. That’s not the case and won’t happen. Considering how much gaming could already be done on the R36S, that’s really not too bad.

What the 36XX can do, though, is enrich the already great experience of the 36S by offering connectivity to services like PortMaster and RetroAchievements without having to get up off the couch. Can you really measure how valuable not getting off the couch is?

Conclusion

The arrival of the 36XX comes at an uncertain time in the emulation handheld world. Tariff battles may put a pause on the market we knew, or change it forever, but I’m certainly glad I was able to get the 36XX in under the wire. This is a handheld that takes everything they did right in the multiple versions of the R36S, and improves on them while still keeping prices lower than should be possible when considering all that package has to go through to arrive at my door for under 30 bucks.

So if you already have a 36S, cherish it. The budget king that started my obsession is still a brilliant console with plenty to offer, but given the option, I would pick the 36XX ten times out of ten. Taking what was built on with its predecessor, Game Console has truly created a device that is ready for everyone out of the box. Whether you just want to open it and start playing or tweak every part of ArkOS to your personal specifics, this handheld is ready to rock from the time it lands in your mailbox.

R36XX at AliExpress

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